I always said I should stay off the Twin Cam board
Just read the thread about replacing lifters as a preventative maintenance measure. Everytime I come on this board, I get scared from all the issues some are having with their 110's.
I keep reminding myself of what many say- issues with the 110 are amplified on the internet and in particular on the motorcycle forums. Some say there are thousands of CVO owners that have had no issues with their high mileage 110's... maybe???
I'm at 21,000 trouble free miles with my 2009 SERG. Bought it used from a good owner in April 2010 with 5995 miles, and to me, it's reasonably quiet and runs cool enough for my liking. Only possible tell-tale signs of anything potentially bad in the future might be the odd ticking when cold (sometimes), and towards the end of the season, I noticed a bit of oil consumption for the first time (but no leaks).
Like someone else mentioned, the last thing I want is down time during the already short riding season, and I especially don't ever want a break down while on a trip. Like everyone here, I really LOVE riding, and want a reliable ride that doesn't have to be in the shop unless I choose for it to be. So, I don't think "don't fix it 'till it's broke" is a good creedo to live by for me, when it comes to my engine.
My indy mechanic turned me on to an old racer mechanic that is a well known tuner around here. He is also known for a 110 performance package that he does- he'll do headwork, throttle body work, re-grinds the stock cams, and in the case of those who have stock exhaust, he guts the cats and puts in different baffles. Basically, he uses what HD has delivered, but re-works everything, and turns it into what it should have been from the factory.
He gets around 105 hp/130 tq from his builds- I've seen the dyno sheets. Says the bike ends up being very ridable, cool running and reliable as well. He's done about a dozen 110's around here.
Total cost for me would be just under $3,000, including taxes and custom dyno tune. Of course, I have to dump my TTS and buy the SEPST, as that's his module of choice. Not sure if he puts in new lifters , but I'd make sure that I end up with new lifters, inner cam bearing, and valve guides.
I was holding off on getting this work done until the bike hit like 40-50 thousand miles, but with all this info I'm reading, it seems to suggest that I'm at the prime mileage to get it done now rather than later.
The other option is to just do lifters, cam w/Torrington bearings, .030 gasket, and valve guides. Thing is, there is definitely no consensus of which cam is the best for the 110 for what I want (like most of us- low end torque), because one thread says the TW555, 777, 7H, etc is great, than another says no, you need headwork with them, best to stick with the SE255 because it can't be beat for low end tq, than another thread says the SE255 is only good for emission compliance, and is garbage,etc, etc .......
Plus, the tuner guy is against aftermarket cams for the 110, as he says several things have to be done as a package to make it all work, and just doing cams alone aren't going to accomplish much.
So, a bit of a rant I know...what was my point again? Oh ya, what do you guys think- do lifters/valve guides/cam bearings really have a 20-25 k life span on every 110 ever made, or am I being paranoid? Should I wait to do the 110 performance work later, when I want to, or sooner because supposedly my engines days are numbered?
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Topic: Thinking about the 110's mortality (Read 4796 times)